By Michelle Jamrisko Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Abstinence programs will receive $170 million from the government next year, according to an article in yesterday's Washington Post. The new funding has prompted debate about the effectiveness of such federal programs in comparison to other forms of sex education.
"My first thought is that the money could be used so much better," second-year College student Amalia Belcher said.
Belcher added that she believes the issues of abstinence and sex should not be government decisions.
College graduate student Sean Nalty said this funding is necessary, and that encouraging abstinence is a positive policy.
"They should encourage birth control," Nalty said. "But [the program] also has to stress abstinence."
Fourth-year College student Su Yin Koh said she sees abstinence programs as an appropriate way to address several problems associated with premarital sex.
"Sex before marriage affects people's emotional health, physical health, the way they relate to people and how they can affect future marriages," Koh said.
But the abstinence programs should not establish a "just say no" policy only, Belcher argued.
"You've got to educate kids about everything because if they don't find out about it, they could make bad decisions," she said. "Abstinence teaching is good, but it is good supplemented with teaching about ways to be safe."
Students also considered the age at which children should be exposed to sex education.
"Seventh grade ... or about age 13 or 14 is about the right age," Nalty said. "I also encourage that at about that age parents start getting involved."
Second-year College student Mahesh Panvar said children should be educated in their early teenage years in order for the programs to be fairly effective in influencing individual opinion. He said the programs should not be one-sided.
"They should have options available," Panvar said, adding that they should be "definitely not no-tolerance [of premarital sex], but a mix."
Belcher said the sex education she experienced through her school encouraged student group discussions that helped students "see what others are thinking." She recalled that her school provided a fair balance of viewpoints on the issue -- a teaching style that she believes should replace the messages of the abstinence-only federal programs.
"At our school they stressed abstinence, but at some points they'd have people come in to talk about how to be safe," she said.
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